Might Google do to television what the Internet giant has already done for publishing – linking to video content and bypassing the content creators? That seems to be the fear of some television executives who are voicing objections to an Android-based set-top box.
Although Google wants to combine web data with TV episodes and online video, content owners are “skeptical that Google can provide a business model that would compensate for potentially cannibalizing TV owners’ existing broadcast business,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
As a result, some TV heads are considering blocking their content from certain devices, potentially Android-based units.
Unlike Apple’s iTunes Store, which provides ready-made sales for music, video and television episodes, the Mountain View, Calif. company is waiting to build a userbase before exploring possible business models. This has media executives worried a network television episode could be displayed alongside a pirated movie – all the while Google rakes in cash from search-based advertising.
This could be an opening for Apple’s own TV plans. Apple plans to rebrand its Apple TV product as iTV, a $99 iOS-based device that’s a mix of iPhone-like applications and high-definition television, according to a report earlier this month. Another report suggests Apple could use the platform to stream television programming for $0.99 per episode.
[AppleInsider, WSJ]
